WASHINGTON — The Colorado GOP is preparing to make a bid for Denver to host the 2016 Republican National Convention — potentially delivering the state a repeat of the economic boost it received when it hosted the Democratic National Convention five years ago.

Party president Ryan Call confirmed the news to The Denver Post on Wednesday.

In addition to Denver's already proven record at hosting the massive four-day international event that draws roughly 50,000 visitors, a 2016 GOP convention in Denver would be apropos, Call said, because it will be "bookends of eight years of an Obama regime."

Political Conventions

"A Republican convention in Denver will not feature Greek columns at Mile High Stadium," Call said, referring to the stage built in 2008 for President Barack Obama's acceptance speech. "But it will showcase the issues important to the West and to America."

Call acknowledged that both Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Gov. John Hickenlooper would need to throw robust support behind the bid for the application to look attractive to national officials.

National Republican officials are expected to release details to bidding cities within a week on what would be expected of them.

City and state officials were tentative about Call's plans Wednesday, saying local governments would obviously benefit from such an event, but they were eager to see the national party's request for proposal to ensure first that all the venues were available.

Advertisement

Republican National Committee officials want to move up the convention to late June 2016 or early July so the candidate can tap general-election funds earlier than Labor Day, which is usually the week of the nominating conventions.

Those late-June and early-July weeks are already Denver's busiest time for hotel bookings and tourism.

The Pepsi Center, which presumably the convention would need to hold the nightly gatherings, also navigates a busier late-June schedule with hockey and basketball playoffs, said Richard Scharf, executive director of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We run some of our highest occupancy during those months," he said. "We just have to look at what we have at the calendar."

Scharf was hopeful that a bid would work out because "whenever you have a national or international spotlight on the city, it's a positive," he said.

Call said those are concerns that all cities will have to deal with and the Republican National Committee was mindful of venue commitments, particularly around high-profile sports events.

Through a spokesman, Hickenlooper, who was instrumental in orchestrating the 2008 Democratic convention when he was Denver's mayor, said he would be "open to hearing more details when available."

A spokeswoman for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said the city received a letter from the RNC giving them the opportunity to apply to host the convention.

"As with any event or convention of this magnitude, Mayor Hancock and the city are open to considering a bid," said Amber Miller. "First step is to understand all the factors involved, including the dates, financial obligations and facility requirements."

Call acknowledges that Denver would face a battle to convince the national Republicans to choose Denver against a handful of other cities vying to host, including Las Vegas and Kansas City, Mo.

Host committees must agree to raise between $50 million and $60 million ahead of the convention and prove they are easy to get around and have acceptable infrastructure.

Call says the successful 2008 Democratic convention will help him make his pitch.

"Denver has already demonstrated and Colorado has already demonstrated ... without other major hitches (that) they can do this," he said.

His push for the bid comes at a time when Colorado is still considered a swing state nationally — even though the state's voters went for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The state's highest-profile office-holders, Hickenlooper and U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, are all Democrats.

RNC officials say they consider many factors — including fundraising capacity, infrastructure and hotel availability — when deciding on a convention location.

Recent history, though, shows that being a swing state also helps. In 2012, Charlotte, N.C., hosted the Democrats, and Tampa, Fla., hosted the Republicans.

In addition to Las Vegas and Kansas City, Denver may also compete against Charlotte, Chicago and Cleveland.

Denver's official application, which will probably be hundreds of pages long, won't be due to RNC officials until early next year. An RNC site-selection committee will be formed over the winter and will visit all the applicant cities before reaching a decision, likely in mid-2014.

In 2008, then-Mayor Hickenlooper and his host committee raised $60 million before the convention. The convention generated a $266.1 million economic boon to metro Denver from the 50,000 guests, including 6,000 delegates, 18,000 national and international media, and 26,000 dignitaries, according to an economic-impact report.

Tampa reports similar numbers: Its 2012 convention generated $214 million in direct economic impact, and the city's host committee had to pony up $58 million beforehand.

"It's a sizable and substantial commitment both on the city and the state," Call said. "We hope to build a broad coalition of government and civic and business leaders to make a good proposal."

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.